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Another very nice thing that the mine has on its property is a large recreational area called Cleveland which was named after some prominent man in the history of the mine. It has a big picnic section and also the Cleveland Bungalows which are a game reserve type arrangement used for management and guests. We were very fortunate to be the guests of Hugh Rix, the head of the Palabora Foundation, for a weekend there.
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Here is our bungalow viewed from the porch of the main lodge and also a close up of its entrance. They are rondavel shaped with thatched roofs and very nice inside.
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Here is what we could see of the brai area of the main lodge from our porch. You can see the Olifants River, our old favorite, in the background.
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Here's Hugh fixing us a simple South African vacation brai breakfast. I apologize for cutting his head a little short.
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The view from the lodge. We saw impala and baboons here. The dug up places in the near grass are from spring hares. One evening a huge hippo grazed right in front of us on this lawn.
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We went for game drives each day and saw the usual elephants and giraffes. The elephant was very close and we were nearly by him before Erika spotted him. She doesn't like being quite that close in an open vehicle, but he pretty much ignored us.
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We got stuck in the sand by the river briefly. The men had to get out and manually engage the four wheel drive. They had an audience nearby to watch the activity.
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By far the most interesting animals we saw were these two little klipspringers. It's unusual to see them up close. They are the size of duiker, but sturdier and stand on their tiptoes. Their hoof print is a little inch wide circle and they can jump around on the rocks as if they had suction cups. Aren't the little horns on the male cute?
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Later we would have dinner cooked by Chef Tony with super salads by Erika.
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Click on the zebras to go to page eleven.
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